17 June 2009 - 14:00
First look at Audi A5 Sportback
Audi has released the first teaser shot of its new niche-busting crossover, the A5 Sportback, and it's fair to say Top Gear is a little confused.
The A5 is, according to Audi, a sleek five-door coupe with the bootspace of an estate and the comfort of a saloon. Essentially it's an A5 coupe with a pair of rear doors and a hatchback boot.
But... hang on. Isn't the A5 the coupe version of the A4? In which case, isn't this just an A4 hatchback?
Not quite, says Audi: the A5 Sportback has frameless doors and a coupe-style roofline which, though giving a sleek profile, somehow allows as much headroom as the A4 saloon.
Audi says the A5 Sportback has bootspace comparable with the A4 Avant - 480 litres with the back seats up, just 10 litres less than the Avant - though luggage space is substantially less with the seats down: 980 litres plays 1,430.
If you're thinking ‘Merc CLS rival', not quite: the A5 is a size down from the big Merc four-door - C-Class rather than E-Class size.
It'll be launched with two petrol engines - the 211bhp 2.0-litre TFSI and 265bhp 3.2-litre V6 - and three diesels: the 170bhp 2.0-litre, 190bhp 2.7-litre and, joyously, the 3.0-litre V6 putting out 240bhp.
We're guessing the latter will be the pick of the bunch... though there are rumours knocking around that Audi might introduce an ‘RS5 Sportback', powered either by a retuned version of the RS4's 4.2-litre V8, or a warmed-up version of the V6 from the S4.
We know for sure that Audi will introduce an entry-level A5 Sportback in the middle of next year, which will undercut the £24,000 base-spec A5 coupe. Until then, expect UK prices to start at around £27,000.
What do you think, Top Gearers? Reckon Audi's on to a winner with this one?
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I'm a fan of pretty much all audis and this one will probably be no different. Who cares about Clarkson's opinions that all the cocks drive Audis? I'm not at car driving age yet so not so worried of getting cut up on the M3 etc. ;)
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Das Deutsch uber trend fur der Crossover-Crossover ist gut, ya?
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erm? point?
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dont get cocky Wotski : )
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i like audi. and i really cant wait until the rs5 is comming out
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and would lord cock like his a5 sportback with oakley sunglasses or a bluetooth earpiece?
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Absolutely love it. Modern but with more than a nod to the elegant Audi 100S Coupe.
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mclaren the audi 100s coupe is one of the most beautiful audis ever made. not as gorgeous as the Audi (dkw) monza. google it people.
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Americans will love it I can just see it another big monstrosity where the tiny 5 feet old lady can fit in.
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If Volkswagen has the Passat CC 4dr., this is Audi's more upmarket version and it will definitely be gorgeous.
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I first thought it would be some kind of shooting brake version of the A5 (which would've been cooler I think), but this appears to be a Passat CC rival. Is this basically the A7 Concept? Or is that still to come?
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Who in the name of god told BMW and Audi that a 4.5 door car is a good idea? I see absolutely no point in either of these 'sport back' models. You have two clear models, saloon and estate, so why add a hybrid-mutant? This was made up by engineers who spent too much time in the marketing department for their own good. Instead of wasting all this time, money, and energy designing intermediary models they could find ways to make current models better, faster, and/or more fuel efficient. So, next time you have a bunch of designers and engineers with nothing to do and the itch to design, have them design improvements the rest of us might actually want, or are focus groups beyond the capacity of the world's finest auto companies?
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is its a 5 door why cant i see a rear door?
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^ Because they zoomed in a bit.
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AUDI Vorsprung durch Technik = The Best.
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As a massive fan of Audi, I must say that I can't wait for this! And that they should totally bring out an RS5- it would be an immediate bestseller. It's far more attractive than most BMWs and Mercs. Audi have shown that they can innovate and that they have creativity..."soul cars" like Alfas are crappy and unnattractive. I'll take the RS4 anyday, and believe me, that car is way too good for cocks. Vorsprung durch Technik.
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you guys are really late. Ive seen this car in Romania last summer, and now i cant get enough of them at chicago they are really popular here. the S5 is more of a hidden gem though, only two in Illinois
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i am a merc and bmw enthusiast but when i went on that audi page and i saw that car and i learnt its features and options that it had got from the merc roadster like the fan in the seats and its quattro system the tables suddenly turned and i got my eye on that audi, and awaiting to see the rs5, and clarkson, if all cocks drive audis then i'm the biggest cock in the world.
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The Audi A5 is my favourite car at the moment. I love the sleek profile, especially in white with those chunky 20 inch wheels. But what in the name of sales reps is this?!!! I hate the sportback stuff. Ive seen other pics of this now and i can honestly say its awful.
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It wouldnt be so bad if they called it the new A4 avant. But giving it the name of the A5 is wrong.
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They shouldnt call it the A4 Avant because, it has nearly 500 litres less in the back with the rear seats down...I think it cant be the new Avant...but on the other hand I cant see the point of these sportbacks too...I love BMW...I love the new Merc C-Class...but I just cant wait to see this in real...I love the shape of it...and as they say it will be practical to...the A5 looks way better than the A4..but it doesnt have as much space as the A4 now heres how they solved this problem...I cant wait to get one of these:) Greetings from Hungary:D
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I have just got rid of my VW Golf GTTDI got an audi A5 3.0 TDI and it is awsome I have never had so much fun in a car but on the other hand it is so good on fuel and so comfortable cruising on the motorways. I have fallen in love, the ASR button on the dash is well when you push and hold it the car becomes a bit of an animal loving that button......
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Alex1994 commented on this article
17 June 2009
I think I understand it, it basically just follows the same theme as the Passat CC. The A4 is a very nice car but it is a touch boring and quite common, not to mention that it's never been quite as prestigious as a BMW or Mercedes so they bring in this. It's a slightly more interesting A4 just as the CC is a more interesting and desirable Passat. It will probably look excellent and they've slapped a higher class name on, even if in reality it's just a different number, and now I give you the Audi Passat CC. I say good on them; bring it on. From what I see it looks great.
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